


The Promises of Yesterday (Hiatus)

by loveanfriendship



Series: Aria's Adventures through Kingdom Hearts [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, brother sister bond, girl best friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-04-08 00:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19096153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveanfriendship/pseuds/loveanfriendship
Summary: Aria was left on Destiny Islands to live by her father at a young age. Now, along with her friends, they wish to leave Destiny Islands on a homemade sail, only for things to take a dark turn. Once again she's all alone and it's up to her to find her friends and figure out the mystery of her past.





	1. Chapter 1

Patrick held his daughter's hand tightly as he glanced up at the castle's empty entryway. It was a place he had visited often with his daughter, Aria, for one of his oldest friends resided here: Eraqus.

He smiled at the brief memory of meeting the young keyblade wielder in his own journey. It had been pure accident; him searching for magic in the land and Eraqus keeping the balance between the light and dark. Friendship had bloomed between the two and it was enough for him to keep coming back once Eraqus had become a Master and settled down with his own pupils. And once Aria, his sweet little Aria, had been born he had taken her as much as he could to see Eraqus. It was a plus for her to hang around people that spoiled her rotten.

"Daddy?" A little girl's voice sounded from his side.

The young man's smile fell a bit as he stared down at his daughter. Her chestnut hair was tied with pale yellow ribbons into two pigtails. Her wide-innocent blue eyes stared up at him with a hint of fear and he scooped her up into his arms. "It's going to be okay, my little wind. We just need to find Eraqus, okay?"

He kissed the top of Aria's head and started to walk into the castle. The sound of his boots echoed solemnly around them, and the hem of his worn out brown cloak dragged against the floor. He jiggled Aria in his arms slightly, causing her to giggle, and put her down once he got to the Audience Chamber.

Brushing his fingers against her forest green dress and brown sandals, he knelt down and told her, "I...Aria...I need you to promise me that you'll behave and keep quiet, okay? We aren't here to play today. Something bad is going on and...there is no other way." He muttered the last part to himself, shame and annoyance welling up in him.

"I promise, daddy." She said sweetly as she smiled up at him. Mommy used to say that her smiles could cheer anyone up.

"Good girl," Patrick said brushing a finger along her cheek lovingly. Glancing up, he told her, "Stay here and I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay, daddy." Aria said seriously. She didn't know why her daddy was as stuffy as mommy called it when he locked himself into his special room that no one was allowed in. She wasn't even sure where her mommy was. Daddy had only said that some bad men had made mommy sleep for a while. But she didn't want to add to her daddy's worry and did as she was told.

Patrick kissed her head and walked into the Chamber Audience. He blew out a sharp breath that he didn't know he had been holding, and looked about carefully before he landed on the person he had come here for. Something must have alerted Eraqus to his presence because his grey eyes widened at him slightly before he let out a small smile. "Patrick. You've come back."

Patrick strode forward until there was very little space between them before answering, "Yes, Eraqus, I have come back. I needed to come back for Aria's sake. They have found me. Have found her. She is not safe with me. This is the only place I can think of that is safe."

Eraqus' eyes widened and he asked, "They have found you? And what do you plan on doing? Leaving Aria here? I would do anything for you, my friend, but your daughter...she would not thrive here."

A grimace came to his features and he sighed softly, "I know she will not thrive here. That they might find her here. I plan on buying you the time to get her somewhere safe. Can you do that for me, Eraqus? Can you get my daughter to a safe place?"

Eraqus opened his mouth to answer when there was a bang. The two men glanced at each other before running out. Patrick tore his gaze around, searching around frantically for Aria, only to find her clinging to a shaken looking Ventus.

Patrick smiled slightly at the sight. Aria had always looked up to Ventus to play games with and just have fun. He didn't know how many times he had caught the two running around, playing with old wooden keyblades, and just acting like children.

Getting lost into the pleasant memory, Patrick only realized that Eraqus had his keyblade out once he heard shouting from them all. The smile wiping off of his face, his eyes frantically looking for his daughter, and he felt the blood rush out of his when he saw the scene before him. For some reason, Eraqus had his keyblade out and looked like he was about attack Ventus. Confusion mixed in with the fear and anxiety as he took note of Ventus holding Aria close to him.

He tore off to get in between them. He had no clue on the sudden turn of Eraqus but his daughter was in the middle of it. He wouldn’t let her get hurt because of something unknown when she was already in so much danger to begin with. Letting one of his hands glow with light, he dove in front of them at the same time Terra came out of nowhere. The barrier was up and there was two sounding clashes as the keyblades slammed into it. He grunted at the force, digging in his feet in more to ground the impact, just as he snapped at Ventus, "Ventus! Get her someplace safe and keep her there!"

Aria whimpered slightly and curled into Ven more. Her breathing hitched at the fighting and watched it all in confusion. Fear jolted her as her daddy entered the fray and tried to calm Eraqus and Terra down. But then she shrank low into Ven at the darkness that surrounded him.

It scared her. The darkness wasn't nice and she whimpered only more loudly and buried her face into Ven's chest. Next thing she knew there was wind and darkness, her legs lifted off the ground only to be brought up close to something hard and warm, and then she was flying to the darkness with Ven.

When she woke up, she was all alone on a small island and didn’t remember much of what happened. Whimpering softly in fear, Aria figured out that she was curled up and covered with a big cloth underneath a palm tree with two small shadows standing over her. Peering up to get a better look, she realized that in front of her were two boys looking down at her in return.

The three of them stared at each other in surprise before the spiky brown haired boy ran off at his friends words, “Sora, I think you should go and get your dad back here.”

This now left Aria staring wide-eyes up at the odd hair coloured boy. She had never seen someone so young, who looked to be around her age at least, with silver hair. The only silver haired people she could hazily remember was grandpa and grandma before mommy said they died. But there was something else about this kid that made her wary of him.

_ Terra standing over them. Blackness moving around him, covering his light, as Aria whimpered and reached for Ven. Then a blast of wind and she was flying back through a portal. _

Her eyes instantly tore open as she noticed the boy moving towards her. In that moment, the silvered haired boy turned taller, older, and with longer hair. His clothes were a mixture of the colours he wore now… the only thing was that he had the same darkness surrounding him as Terra had. Aria scrambled back with a scream of fear. Sand was kicked everywhere as Aria tried to get away from this boy. This boy who felt like Terra had in that moment. She burst out crying when she realized there was nowhere she could go as the boy stared at her.

“Riku? What was Sora saying about a-,” the older voice cut off.

Next thing Aria knew, the sand was shifting in front of her, and there were kind words being spoken, “Hello there. Are you hurt?”

Aria hiccuped as she wiped at her tears and snotty nose and peered at the watery image of a blurry grown up. “Owwy,” she muttered, hiccuping again as she moved her arm the wrong way,  and giving her eyes one last rub. Kneeling in front of her was an older man. He had the same brown hair and blue eyes as one of the boys. He reached out a hand to touch her, only for Aria flinch and lean away from him.

His eyes softened even as he frowned briefly. He blew out a breath, glancing between an anxious looking Sora, a worried Riku who was trying not show it, and the young girl who looked like someone had beaten her up. Understanding what he should do, he smiled softly and introduced himself, “I’m Ren. This is Sora and Riku. What’s your name?”

Hiccuping again, Aria glanced between the three with her eyes lingering on Sora’s. He had a heart like Ven. Bright and comforting. It made her relax enough to mumble out, “Ar - Aria.”

“Aria,” Ren repeated softly. “That’s a beautiful name, Aria. Do you know where your parents are?”

That brought a terrible pain to chest, enough for her to clutch at it tightly, as she let out cry. Tears burned in the back of her eyes and fell down sloppily on her cheeks. “Gone. Dad--daddy said mommy was...then daddy….then Ven...I have no one.”

Ren’s eyes widened at that before sliding slightly behind her to the abandoned makeshift blanket that had been on Aria. He chewed his lip thoughtfully before gently reaching out to the scared child. She was light when he picked her up and he frowned at her whimper of pain. Turning to the boys, he apologized, “Sorry boys, but there’s no time for you two to play here on the island today. We need to take Aria here to the hospital and figure out what to do with her.”

There was similar answers back as Ren carried her back to the boat that would take them to the mainland. She struggled lightly but gave up when she realized that Ren wasn’t going to let her go. Blinking at the spot where Ven had left her, she whispered sullenly, “I...I wanna...go….home.”


	2. Chapter Two

_Aria was humming to herself as she waited for her daddy. She twiddled her fingers in her dress, giggling in delight as it swirled around her, and looked each way down the hallway hopefully. Maybe Ven would happen around the corner and she could play? Or Aqua? She liked the blue haired lady a lot. She was kind and made pretty magic for her. She wanted to do magic like Aqua and Daddy when she was older! Ooh! Or Terra! She always giggled at him and Ven arguing with each other over childish things that made her laugh. It was funny. But as she looked around hopefully, Aria couldn't see anyone and slumped in disappointment. She really wanted someone to play with._

_She slumped against the stone wall, eyes on the ground as the voices from the room floated around her, when she heard a sound. Perking up in delight, she glanced at the door and bit her lip. Should she disobey her daddy and go investigate? He would be mad if she did. But the noise had caught her interest. She stood there for a second, debating by looking down the hallway and then back to the door, and started to inch away from the wall._

_Seeing that the door didn't open, Aria beamed to herself and tore down the hallway. Her small feet pounded on the brick floor as she ran. She squinted a bit at the sudden brightness but was quick to squeal when she saw one of her favourite people in the world. "Ven!"_

_She tackled him into a huge hug, wrapping her tiny arms around him as far as they would go, and buried her face into his chest. It felt nice being with Ven. He had this bright warmth around him that made her relax and feel like it everything was going to be okay. Aqua and Terra made her feel the same way too. Though Terra sometimes felt different. Like there was a bit of coldness inside his warmth. It confused her and scared her a bit._

_"Aria? Wha-"_

_Aria was about to answer when Eraqus's voice rang out instead, "Ventus, you're alone? I thought Aqua would -" Aria peeked out from her spot and watched as Eraqus and her daddy came up to them. She pushed deeper into Ven in hopes that her daddy wouldn't see. She really didn't want to get into trouble for not listening._

_Footsteps sounded in front of them and she squeaked slightly when hands were suddenly on each of Ven's shoulders. She wrinkled up her nose at the closeness of Eraqus but didn't say anything as he continued, "Well, what matters is that you're home. You don't belong outside this world yet. You need to stay here where you can learn -"_

_Aria perked up in interest. There were more outside worlds than just her home world and Eraqus's world? Daddy had never mentioned that in any of his bedtime stories before. She opened her mouth to ask a question, but Ven's voice interrupted her. "In your prison?"_

_She frowned and peered up at him now. He looked upset...and mad? But why would he be upset and mad? And why was his home a prison? It was his home! He had family here and was happy. She didn't like seeing Ven like this. It upset her and she hugged him tightly in comfort._

_"What?"_

_Aria squeaked in surprise when Ven shrugged his shoulders. But now, he placed an arm around her and looked down at her as he spoke up, "That's your excuse...for keeping me imprisoned here, isn't it?" At the end, Ven's voice rose and he backed up a bit carrying Aria with him. His eyes were now on Eraqus as he stood up as well._

_Aria peeked at Eraqus and whimpered softly. He didn't look happy now. He looked mad and she hoped Ven didn't push him any farther. She knew that daddy could be scary when mad and she didn't want to see Eraqus mad._

_"What did you hear?" Eraqus demand._

_Now Ven got into a fighting stance, being careful of the small girl hanging onto him still, and said right back, "That I'm supposed be some kind of weapon...some kind of…'x-blade'!"_

_Now Aria was confused. How could Ven be a weapon? He was human! She turned to await Eraqus' response in hopes of getting an answer._

_"I knew it. Xehanort - he could never let it go." As Eraqus said this, his fingers ran over the scar underneath his eye. The scar that Xehanort had given him by using darkness on him. "I failed. I had the chance to stop him and I couldn't do it. But I will not fail again."_

_Aria let out a small scream when Eraqus swung his hand and his keyblade appeared. She felt Ven's arms wrap around her as he stumbled back with her in fear. "Master! What are you…?"_

_"The x-blade has no place in this or any world. Xehanort has made his purpose clear… and I am left with no choice. Forgive me… but you must not exist no more." A stray tear fell as Eraqus told Ventus this._

_Now Aria did scream loudly as there was a bright light coming from the keyblade followed by chain looking things. She felt Ven bend over her, shielding her from them, and she curled in deeper. She was scared. So scared. She wanted her daddy!_

_"Ven!"_

_"Aria!"_

_There were two different shouts followed by two different clunking sounds. She heard her daddy shout something out but it was drowned out by Eraqus's surprised voice, "What?"_

_"Master, have you gone mad?" That wasn't Ven's or daddy's voice. Aria opened her eyes a bit to see an armored person standing in front of her and Ven. She recognized that voice...it was Terra!_

_"Terra! I command you - step aside!"_

_The armour disappeared to reveal Terra and Aria relaxed. Maybe Terra could calm Eraqus down? But her hopes were vanished when Terra snapped, "No!"_

_"You will not heed your Master?"_

_"I won't!"_

_Eraqus shut his eyes softly and asked, "Why do all my attempts to reach you fail? If you do not have it in your heart to obey...then you will have to share Ventus's fate."_

_Arias screamed again, alerting everyone to the fact that she was still very much in the way with them, as Eraqus ran at them. Ven jerked them back and stumbled to his knees, dragging Aria with him, as he hunched over her with one of his arms raised in self-defense._

_There was clashing noises as Aria cried openly now from fear. She didn't like all of this fighting and didn't understand why they were fighting. She just knew that they were and that she could get hurt from it if Terra or Ven failed to keep her safe._

_Ven looked down at the crying four year old clinging to him. She didn't deserve to be a part in this. Aria hadn't done anything to deserve this. He needed to get her out of the way. He could push her to Terra at the last moment. He would protect her. Determined to protect Aria, he looked up at Terra and said, "Enough, Terra! He's right…"_

_But Terra wasn't going to go along with him and snapped, "Quiet."_

_"Terra."_

_Aria hiccuped and looked up at Ven. He sounded conflicted. Like he wanted something but was touched at Terra protecting them. She snapped her eyes up when there was a bright light and she screamed again. Though her scream was cut off when it hit the three of them and Aria felt herself being lifted off the ground and going flying._

_Aria landed on her arm, twisting it under her and causing her to cry out in pain. Ven had tried to take most of the fall but was quick to hug her closer at her cry. He was desperate now to get Aria out of the way. She was going to get severely hurt, or worse, killed, if this fight went on any longer. Glancing down at her pain filled face, Ven's guilt nearly swallowed him whole as he came to the realization that she was getting harmed because of him. Vanitas was his darkness and the Master was trying to kill him because of it! He didn't want to do it, he only wanted to protect Aria, but this wasn't the way to protect her. Slowly he started letting go of her and pushed her away from him._

_Aria was looking up at Terra when she felt sudden coldness come from him. Only now there was a blackness surrounding him that scared her. It scared her badly. The darkness wasn't nice and she whimpered only more loudly and tried to bury her face back into Ven's chest only to have it hit her that he had let go of her. Eyes going wide, hurt filled her body as she reached for him desperately for comfort. Why was he shoving her away like this? Why was he abandoning her now when she needed him? Tears welled up and she let out a sniffle, still trying to reach for him when the next moment she was flying backwards along with Ven._

_Next thing she knew there was wind and darkness, her daddy yelling something, her eyes trying desperately to find her dad but only to land on a scary looking Terra, and her legs lifted off the ground only to be brought up close to something hard and warm. Then she was flying to the darkness with Ven._

_Aria stirred lightly. She could hear something gentle and the ground was itchier than she remembered it being. Opening her eyes, she blinked at the sun rays hitting her and snapped them open again in fear. She spun around to face Ven, but he wasn't there. Aria whimpered and pulled her sore arm closer to her chest. She sat up straight, looking around wildly for any sign that Ven was still with her. But she found none and screamed out -_

"Ven!"

Aria sat up with a startled gasp and then a groan. She had that dream again. That stupid dream where she had been left by everyone. Except that it hadn't been a dream. It had been real. She had been left by everyone: her mother, her father, Eraqus, and Ven. Ven who had left her on this island with no reason at all. All alone. She had briefly seen Terra and shuddered at the memory of the coldness that had surrounded him. And she hadn't seen Aqua at all.

Warmth hit her as a few rays of sunshine touched her face gently. A smile formed on her face and she couldn't help the fondness in her voice as she whispered to herself, "I gained a new family. One with Sora and his parents. And I have two other best friends in Riku and Kairi. I'm not alone anymore."

And she wasn't alone. Not really. She hadn't been alone since Sora and Riku had found her. She had been four years old, and now ten years later, she was happy and safe with her life. Though she still missed the people that had abandoned her furiously she was grateful to the ones that had taken her in.

Aria was startled out of her thoughts when her bedroom door opened after a quick knock. She blinked and then giggled at messy looking Sora. His already spiky brown hair was messier than normal but his blue eyes were bright as usual. He grinned at her brightly, "Morning, Aria! Come on! We need to go and meet up with Riku and Kairi to work on the raft."

Nodding, she gave him a small smile back, "Morning, Sora. I'll meet up with you guys later, okay? There's something I need to do first."

Instant concern was on Sora's face as he shifted worriedly, "Are you okay, Aria? Did you have that dream again?"

Looking down at her light yellow bed sheets, she gave a small nod, and muttered, "Yeah, I did. I remembered a bit more than last time. I want to write it down in my journal and then I'll meet up with you guys."

She looked up and saw that he still had a concerned look on his face. She gave him a bigger smile and encouraged him, "Go on ahead, Sora. I'll catch up to you guys later. I promise."

He watched her closely before nodding with a smile and ran off. Aria listened to his footsteps bounce off the stairs followed by a door slamming. She smiled at Sora's enthusiasm and giggled at him. She reached over for the journal she kept in her nightstand and read over the previous entries she had written. This entry was longer than all of the others, since it had so much detail to it, and she finally shut it.

The soft smile on her face crumbled as she stared longingly at the journal's cover. She missed her friends and family more than she could explain. But she had new ones now and she loved them just as much as her old ones. She would do anything for them.

Shaking her head to get the depressing thoughts out of her mind, Aria smiled again at the journal and put it away. She hopped out of the bed and brushed her chestnut brown hair. Then she placed it in her usual pigtails and tied it with her yellow ribbons. Now, she changed from her pajama shorts and top to her usual outfit which consisted of: a light green tank top, a dark green jacket that she kept open, dark blue jeans, and green and yellow sneakers to top it off.

Grinning at herself in the mirror, Aria whispered to her reflection, "It's almost time to set sail. Then I can go and find Dad, Ven, Aqua, and Terra. I can find them and bring them home. They'll love Sora, Kairi, and Riku. We'll be together again." She grinned wider and nodded softly. Laughing to herself, she ran out of her room, out of her house, and down to the beach. She would have to row a boat over to the other part of the Island but she didn't mind one bit. It was just one step closer to finding her other family.


	3. Chapter Three

Aria peaked down the stairs, straining her hearing to see if Naomi and Ren were still in the house, and sighed to herself when she heard faint footsteps coming from the kitchen. She guessed that meant she'd have to see what Naomi wanted.

Deciding that it would be best to make some noise for her to hear, Aria bounced loudly down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen. She nearly toppled over her own feet, catching herself by grabbing the counter, and gave a sheepish look at Sora's mom. "Sorry, Naomi. I didn't mean to trip."

Placing her hands on her hips, a smile teasing at the corners of her mouth, Naomi pretended to scold her, "Oh Aria! How clumsy can one girl be, hm?"

A giggle escaped Aria's lips as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, a move she had picked up from Sora, and smiled back, "She can only be clumsy when she's in a rush to get the island to hang out with her friends."

"Is that so?" Naomi asked breaking the mock anger. Waving her spatula for her to sit down on the chair, she told her adopted daughter, "Sit down and eat. Then you can go do whatever you guys are up to on that island."

Naomi bit back a smile as she watched Aria shovel food into her mouth. She could remember when Ren had first brought the young girl into their home and lives. How skinny and pale she was. How distant and terrified she had been. The bruises that had sprung onto her pale skin making it look like she had been abused. Which Naomi admitted to thinking that had been the case, because who just left an injured and bruised child all alone, before Aria had opened up and told them that her dad had disappeared and her mom was dead. Her heart had broken at that information, and a glance from Ren told her he felt the same way, and they had adopted the girl immediately. And Naomi didn't regret that decision for even a second.

"What?" Aria asked, swallowing the food in her mouth. "You've been staring at me for the past few minutes. Do I have something on my face?"

Giggling, Naomi loving brushed her fingers across Aria's face and whispered softly, "It'll be ten years tomorrow that you showed up in our lives. A long, beautiful, loving ten years that I cherish with all my heart. You are the daughter I never had, Aria, and I know I'm not your real mother...but I hope you consider me as one."

Placing her fork on her plate, Aria grabbed Naomi's hand and wrapped her other arm around the older woman. Burying her face into the woman's chest for comfort, her voice was muffled by the clothing as she muttered, "You have been the greatest mother that I could have ever asked for other than my own mom. Same with Ren for being my second father. You guys are my family...even if I don't act like it sometimes." Grinning as she pulled back slightly, she just had to tease, "And Sora for being a butt head of a brother. Though I wouldn't be quite as happy if it weren't for Kairi and Riku. You guys are the best thing to have happened to me that day."

Laughing delightfully, Naomi's eyes were the same bright, happy blue as Sora's were. Stroking Aria's face once more, she hummed in thought before smiling, "We should hold a dinner for you tomorrow night. Your favourite meal. Riku and Kairi can come over too. Celebrate the day that you came into our lives, Aria. Would you like that?"

"I would love that!" she gushed in excitement. She hugged Naomi again tightly, yelled a goodbye, and rushed out of the house.

The salty breeze of the ocean swung her pigtails backwards as Aria raced towards the rowboat that she called hers. She hoped Sora had explained to Kairi and Riku about why she was late to meet up with them. But she had really wanted to write down her dream in her journal first before the details were forgotten. She knew that her red headed best friend would understand and sympathize with her, but it was Riku she was worried about. He was dead set on leaving these islands ever since she showed up that day and it only intensified when Kairi had shown up a little while later.

Aria wouldn't admit it, but she was very wary of Riku. There was just something about him that made her not get as close to him as she was with Sora and Kairi. It had a bright light to it that made her want to get closer to him, but at the same time there was this darkness inside him that scared her away from being close to him. His heart was too much like how Terra was to make her feel comfortable around him. It was a hard act to pull sometimes, especially with Sora and Kairi acting normal around him like they didn't realize there was something dark inside him. It puzzled her at times but she went along with it since they were her friends.

Kairi's heart was the first thing that had caught Aria's attention when they had first met. She remembered staring at the girl with an open mouth at the  _pure_ brightness. Nothing but brightness. It was a stark difference to both Riku and Sora's hearts that it made Aria stick close to the poor girl just because it felt so warm.

Speaking of hearts, Sora's heart was bright like Kairi's though Aria could sense some darkness in her spiky haired brother. It had come as a surprise to her the first time she had noticed it when Sora had gotten mad...something that he rarely did. Admitting to herself that she liked Sora's heart the best out of the three. But was it wrong of her to like it for selfish reasons? Sora's heart was so much like Ven's. It felt so familiar and it made her own heart ache in pain and comfort her at the same time. It was confusing at times when she got really upset and she reached her heart to Sora's and it felt like Ven was there. Only for her to get her hopes turned down when she realized that it was only Sora. It made her feel guilty sometimes but she gladly took it as is for the comfort. Though not as guilty as being uncomfortable around Riku because of his heart. That still topped every other guilt she had felt in her short life.

_But he hasn't acted on the darkness in his heart. He never has. Sure, Riku might be the most invested in this trip of ours but that doesn't make him a bad guy._ She thought to herself as she jumped in the boat.

Sighing to herself, Aria tore her thoughts away from her friend's hearts. That didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting in her boat and heading over to the island. She squealed softly when her boat rocked much more than she wanted it to and she gripped the edges until it settled down. She really didn't want to go for a swim so soon. Grinning to herself, Aria started to row to the smaller island where their raft was waiting for them to finish. Excitement bubbled in her stomach as she thought of finally leaving the islands to search for her father with her friends by her side. But first...she needed to get to her friends and help build the raft.

It wasn't long before Aria was at the dock, tying up her boat next to the other three that were already there, and peered around with her hand shading her eyes. It didn't take her long to find her friends when she heard a shout.

"C'mon Kairi! Riku! I'm telling you guys the truth! There was this big black thing attacking me!"

Aria giggled as Sora's voice reached her ears. He must have been sleeping and had dreamt something silly or stupid again. Probably both. But it at least gave her a direction to go in as she started to jog lightly over to the small group of three.

Getting closer to them, and trying to hide her amusement but it wasn't working, Aria slipped silently beside Kairi as Riku and Sora started to fight with their wooden swords. "Who do you think is gonna win this round, Kairi?" She asked with mirth lacing her voice.

Giggling softly, Kairi gave Aria a small smile before turning back to the two boys. "Who else always wins? Riku of course."

Nodding in agreement, the two girls watched the fight go on before it quickly ended with the way Kairi had predicated: Riku winning. Which wasn't a surprise since Riku was the best fighter out of the four of them.

But with the end of the fight it also meant that Riku had finally noticed Aria's arrival. Riku crossed his arms as he tried to look mad. He gave Aria his famous look, that he normally gave Sora for sleeping, to which she just grinned back sheepishly and said, "I had another bad dream. Wanted to write it down. Then I got talking to Naomi. She's planning on holding a dinner for me tomorrow night. Apparently that marks ten years of me being here with you goofballs."

"Goofballs? Aw, Aria! I'm not a goofball!" Sora exclaimed with a small pout.

Rolling his eyes, Riku reached over and ruffled Aria's hair knowing she hated having that done to her. He gave her a small smile and told her, "Like brother, like sister. You both are goofballs and Kairi's a lazy bum. But I'll be there."

"Me too!" Kairi agreed with a bright smile. She reached down and squeezed Aria's hand comfortingly knowing exactly what the other girl was feeling. Tugging on Aria's hand, Kairi started to walk away with her when Riku stopped to tell them, "Let's get back to working on the raft. Kairi, Aria you guys can go and get some rope and cloth for the raft. Then come back here after you're done. Sora and I will gather wood and start building it again." He shot Sora one of his looks, "That is if someone doesn't go back to sleep again."

Giggling at Sora's shout, Aria glanced at Kairi and they nodded at each other in agreement. They slipped off silently listening to Sora and Riku argue back and forth until they couldn't anymore. Once out of sight, Kairi placed her hands behind her back and smiled, "So what should we get first, Aria? The rope or the cloth?"

Humming in thought, Aria wracked her brain in thought before thinking out loud. "Well I think I saw some rope laying around near here. As for the cloth...I have no clue. Where would somebody hide some cloth?" She asked herself in deep thought.

Placing a hand over her mouth as she laughed at Aria's expression, Kairi had to tease her, "How about in the treehouse? That's the most likely place that it'd be."

Flushing pink, Aria rubbed her hair softly messing up her ribbons, as she muttered embarrassingly, "I never thought of the treehouse. I would never have even bothered looking there."

Patting her arm sympathetically, Kairi decided to give Aria a break on the teasing. She got enough of that from Sora and Riku. Glancing at her from the corner of her eye, Kairi couldn't help but be concerned for her only female friend. Sora had mentioned briefly that Aria would be late again but not the reason why she was upset again. Kairi hated seeing any of her friends upset she really wanted to help her friend.

"Kairi?" Aria asked.

Cocking her head curiously, Kairi answered, "Yeah, Aria?"

Biting her lip thoughtfully, Aria considered Kairi before asking softly, "Do you ever miss your real home and your real family?"

For one moment, Kairi's bright eyes turned upset before it was gone. Looking up at the sky, she waited a moment before answering honestly, "Well...I can't really remember my real home or my family. Destiny Islands is my home and the mayor is my family. So...I guess not really. Though I would like to see my home world one day. I wonder what it was like."

Aria felt a flash of envy for her friend. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all that Kairi couldn't remember anything of her past life and readily accepted her new one. It wasn't fair that she could remember the last day with her father and Ven and that it had been a horrible day. It wasn't fair and Aria wished that she could just forget like Kairi had. That way she'd be able to give Naomi and Ren all of her love like they deserved instead of having her wish for her father. It sucked remembering.

Noticing Aria's tear filled eyes fixated on the ground, Kairi immediately moved in front of her and forced them both to stop. She grabbed Aria's hands tightly and told her softly, "Aria...sometimes I wish that I could remember them. I'm sure that they were loving people and that I was happy there. I sometimes wonder on what my parents looked like, what kind of people they were, and everything and anything that I can question. I get jealous of you sometimes. You can remember your parents and yet...you get so upset by that. If you want to talk about them you can talk to me. I may not have my own memories but I do understand the longing that you feel at times."

A couple of stray tears fell down Aria's face as she moved forward and leaned against Kairi. She couldn't help the soft sobs as her constant nightmare flitted through her mind. But Kairi only hugged her and let her cry until she couldn't anymore.

Pulling away, embarrassed by her behaviour, Aria rubbed at her eyes before squeezing Kairi's hands seeking comfort. "I...it's hard to explain, Kairi. The day that I arrived here...it...I was alone. My dad was nowhere in sight and...my friend...Ven...he had been with me...but he wasn't here when I woke up. I just...I miss them so much." She whispered fearing that this would make her even weaker compared to the others. They were all so strong and yet she felt like the weakest one out of the group.

Kairi only squeezed her hand back and felt happiness that Aria had opened up to her at last. She was sure that there was a lot more that her friend wasn't telling her but this was a start. Nodding determinedly, Kairi smiled brightly and said, "Then let's get that stuff for the raft! The sooner we build it the sooner we can go looking for your dad and your friend. And Aria? We'll find them one day, I promise."

Brightening up, Aria wiped away the last of her tears with a grin and shouted, "Last one to the tree house is a loser!" With that warning, she took off laughing and laughed even harder when she heard Kairi laughing behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

It turned out that Aria had been thinking of logs when she had suggested that the rope would be closer to them on the ground. Kairi had laughed at her for that while Aria pretended to pout, she wasn't hurt by the laugh, and ended up laughing herself. They talked it over a bit before deciding that gathering the logs anyways would be the best course of action. Even if they didn't use them just yet, they'd probably need them anyway later on. After collecting them, they dumped them into a neat pile at the bottom of the stairs and decided to come back after getting what they were supposed to get in the first place.

Along the way, Aria started humming a song, one of the few that her mom used to sing her when she was little, while they looked around. It was a hazy memory at best, she couldn't remember the actual words or remember what her mother looked like, which stung her when she realized that, but it also brought a sense of relaxation to her while they worked.

"What are you singing, Aria?" Kairi asked curiously. She had never heard a tune like that before, and it caught her interest.

"Huh? Singing?" Aria asked in confusion before it clicked in. "Ohhh, you mean what I'm humming, hehehe. Well...it's a song my mom used to sing to me every night before bedtime. I can't remember the words...or her voice when she sang it…" she stopped to push down the grief that hit her before continuing, "But I remember the tune! So...that's a good thing, I guess?"

Smiling softly, Kairi agreed, "That is a good thing. And it's a beautiful song. Thank you for sharing it with me, Aria."

Smiling to herself with a pleasing feeling in her heart, Aria skipped up the stairs two at a time. Climbing into the treehouse, she grinned excitedly when she saw the cloth hanging on the wall. Doing a fist pump, she hissed out a "yes!", and snatched the fabric off the wall all the while tying it around her neck like a cape.

Giggling, she posed with one fist up in the air and the other one on her hip, saying dramatically, "Don't worry Kairi! I'll help you with your chores. Chores are horrible to do either way, and they need to be dealt with accordingly!"

Laughing, Kairi rocked on her heels and eyed Aria with bright eyes before teasing her, "Maybe you can beat Riku and Sora in a race now with your new superpowers."

Pouting childishly, Aria let out a small whine of disbelief, playfully bantering back, "Kairi! Are you saying that I always lose to Riku and Sora during our races? I thought you were my friend."

Hiding her laugh behind her hand, Kairi grinned, "I am your friend, Aria. And you do lose... like I do. We're slower than them."

"You mean that they have longer legs. I wish I had longer legs. Though...with my shorter ones I have less of a fall to the ground than them," she grumbled, crossing her arms while still pouting. Sighing, Aria shook her head and brightened up immediately, "Heh, one day I will beat both of them, and it will be the greatest day ever, Kairi. I promise you that."

"So, you can tell them, "I told you so" after telling them "that today is the day that I beat the two of you"?" Kairi asked curiously, using her fingers as quotation marks for what Aria said every time they all raced.

Flushing a soft pink, Aria looked embarrassed but nodded determinedly, "Yup! And I will continue to do so until I win!" Jumping up and down on the spot with a sudden burst of energy, Aria looked around for the rope before deciding to explore the area even though she had done it a few times before.

She walked around to the window, still wearing the cloth like a cape, and leaned slightly forward to look around. The rope had to be somewhere close by. It just had to be, or else she was out of ideas. Her blue eyes lit up in delight when she caught sight of it and not thinking of anything other than getting the rope, Aria pulled herself up onto the ledge of the window sill, swinging her legs gently a few times, before jumping off the ledge the next moment despite hearing Kairi's surprised gasp.

Lucky for her, there was a wooden platform just underneath the window that made sure her fall wasn't too dangerous. Cocking her head upwards, she gave Kairi an apologetic smile and was quick to apologize, "Sorry Kairi! Didn't mean to worry you. I can see the rope so I'll grab it and we can meet up at the bottom of the stairs where we left the logs. Yeah?"

"Okay! No more stunts like that Aria. Be careful!" Kairi replied before disappearing from Aria's sight.

Moving across the platform swiftly and quietly, Aria sighed as she noticed that the rope was just behind Tidus. Now there was nothing with Tidus, he was a really great guy to talk to and everything, it's just that she didn't feel like talking to him at this moment. Pursuing her lips, Aria tiptoed carefully, pausing now and then to glance at the boy to see if he heard her, and grinned smugly to herself when she grabbed the rope and got out of there without being seen at all.

She still had the smug grin on her face when she got back to Kairi with the rope tied around her waist acting as a belt. She huffed softly at the redhead's giggles but picked up her pile of the logs and they headed back to the raft together.

* * *

Sighing in relief as she dumped the logs onto the raft, Aria quickly untied the rope and cloth from her body before either of the boys could see. She shuddered to think of the teasing session she would get. It was better off to just have the boys think she had done nothing to warrant it. Yup, she could do that perfectly well or drive the attention back to Sora for something stupid that he had done.

Getting a weird look from Kairi at the mass of giggles of that last thought, Aria placed an innocent look on her face when the boys showed up. Gesturing to the stuff they had brought back, she was smug while telling them, "We got the stuff! Plus a lot more than you expected us to, heh Riku?"

Smiling in his own way, Riku nodded in approval, "Good job, guys. We did great work today. Well, when some people decided to wake up and help."

Relaxing as she plopped down into the sand beside Sora, who grinned at her, before he turned to kneel in the sand, and asked Kairi the question Aria herself had asked earlier, "Say, Kairi, What was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up."

Sora glanced at Aria but knew better than to ask her this question. Whenever someone would ask her there was a mixture of reactions depending on her mood. Either she would get defensive and snap at them or she would be silent and just not answer. In both ways, she would always have this hurt expression on her face that made his heart hurt and feel guilty for just asking her. So he had learned to stop asking and just waited for her to talk to him about it.

Aria elbowed him hard in the ribs causing him to let out a loud yelp of pain. "Aria! What was that for? That hurt you know." He said rubbing the offended sore spot.

Giving him a pointed look, she directed her head into the direction of Kairi, who was standing at the shore watching the waves now and hissed under her breath, "That was insensitive Sora. You know that she can't remember so why ask her when you know the answer?"

Sora opened his mouth to protest when Kairi spoke up, "Aria's right, Sora. I've told you before, I don't remember."

"Nothing at all?" Sora pushed a bit more despite getting another elbow from Aria. If she kept it up he was going to get bruised.

"Nothing."

"You ever want to go back?"

Now Aria groaned and pressed her face into her hands unable to believe that Sora was asking all of these questions. Either he wanted to help her or he was oblivious to the fact that Kairi's body was a bit tense at the moment. She glanced hopefully at Riku in hopes that he'd get them off of this topic.

Fortunately, Riku saw the glance and gave Aria a soft nod. Looking between the three of them, he leaned towards Sora and asked softly for his ears only, "How about a race to our tree? The first one there gets to name the raft."

Narrowing his eyes in thought as Riku's question caught his attention, Sora asked, "And the loser? What happens to the loser?"

Smirking now, Riku replied easily, "The loser has to step back and let the winner share a paopu fruit with the girl of his choosing."

"Hey!" Sora snapped with a small frown. He didn't like the fact that Riku could potentially share a paopu fruit with Kairi or Aria. Aria was his sister! No one was allowed to share a paopu fruit with her unless he approved of the guy and while Riku was his best friend...it didn't feel right to let him share fruit with her. Kairi was out of the question. There was no way Sora was even going to let Riku near her with a paopu fruit because the mere  _thought_ left a bad taste in his mouth and an ugly feeling in his stomach.

These emotions spurred him on to yell, "Oh you're on, Riku!"

Aria blinked in surprise when all of a sudden both boys were off and running leaving the two girls behind. They both blinked at the spot, sitting and standing in silence for a minute or so, before letting out their own yells of, "Hey, wait!" and "That's not fair! You never counted down!" before running off after them.

They raced to the other side of the beach where their tree was. By the time Aria got there, she was panting hard with her hands resting on her knees. Blowing a strand of black hair out of her face, she muttered huffily, "What was that all about? You two never said it was an official race."

She got no official answer from either boy other than a smirk from Riku and an angry pout from Sora. Shrugging to herself nonchalantly, Aria thought that they were acting a bit strange but brushed it off. Throwing herself to the ground, she crossed her arms behind her head and laid back on them with a content sigh. Finally, she could relax without much interruption or accusations of not doing anything. Who knew that racing, exploring the island looking for stuff, and building a raft could take so much energy out her?

Eventually, she got tired of laying on her back, plus the sand was starting to make her skin itchy and scrambled up to plop on the tree in between Kairi and Riku. Swinging her legs back and forth, she marveled on how beautiful the sunset always looked on these islands. The way the setting sun cast beautiful hues of red, orange, and pink along with mixing with the clouds to make a nice dark purple colour made her feel content beyond belief. Her body felt like it was floating gently on the sea as she watched the colours flow from the sun.

Unfortunately, Sora broke that slightly as he asked, "So, Kairi's and Aria's homes are out there somewhere, right?"

A brief image of a wooden house blended in with a forest and the faint sound of a running river hit her hard. She gripped the tree trunk tightly, nails digging into the bark as she tried to blink back sudden tears. Pain and longing rippled through her heart as she took in a sharp breath to calm herself down before her friends could notice.

 _Was that my home? I can barely remember anything about my life before here...except for_ _ **that**_ _day. It's all so hazy...but I think that may have been it. The place that I grew up in with my own mom and dad. Will I find it one day?_ Aria thought to herself, body swirling with so many emotions that she was having a hard time trying to place them all. Automatically she reached out with her own heart towards Sora's. When she felt the familiar warmth and acceptance there was something hidden just underneath the surface that she could have sworn she'd felt before. There was another loving and comforting warmth that hit her that wasn't coming from Sora himself.

That caught her attention. She glanced at Sora from the corner of her eye and tried to reach deeper within him to see where that extra comfort was from. But she either couldn't find it again or she'd just imagined it because no matter how much she tried to search for it she couldn't find it again. Sighing to herself, she gave up on the search and just decided to enjoy the moment. Besides she was probably just imagining it due to the date and decided to just relax with Sora's warm heart comforting her.

Riku's voice pierced through her thoughts and brought her back to attention. "Could be. We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora asked leaning forwards past Kairi and Aria to look at Riku.

Waving his hand slightly, Riku shifted slightly from his stance of leaning against the tree, answering casually, "Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else."

Now Kairi asked her own question, "So suppose you get another world. What would you do there?"

Aria felt the words slip past her lips unwillingly and without thought. "I'd look for my father. I want to know what happened to him. And to my friends. I want to ask them why they just left me here on these islands without even a note or a goodbye. I want to know why they abandoned me." Her voice was bare as a whisper. As soon as she was done, she jerked back slightly and her eyes cast downward in shame. Why had she said such a thing? Why had she told them that? Those were her private thoughts. Thoughts that no one was ever supposed to hear but her.

"Aria," Sora whispered softly. He felt hurt for her and wanted to comfort her somehow but he wasn't sure how to do it. "You have us, Aria. We won't abandon you. Friends forever! Besides you're my sister. We'll be together always. And we'll help you find your father and your friends!"

"I told you that before we'd help you, Aria." Kairi reminded her squeezing her hand. Even Riku nodded affirmatively as he watched Aria closely. "We'll all help each other out," he added. "We're in this together."

Smiling gratefully, Aria used the hand that wasn't gripping Kairi's to wipe at her eyes quickly. "Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I really do," she replied softly. Turning the conversation away from herself, she repeated Kairi's question with a small smile, "So Riku...you never answered Kairi's question. What would you do once you got to another world?"

"Hm. Well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just…" he crossed his arms again, looking out at the sea before continuing, "I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds...then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" Looking at them, he waited to hear their thoughts on the subject.

Sora shrugged and lay back on the tree while he answered, "I don't know."

"Exactly. That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go." Riku answered back as he walked over to the edge of the water.

Biting her lip, Aria glanced out at the sea, back to Riku, and then at the ground. Whispering softly, she muttered, "Sometimes the same old stuff is the best kind of stuff. You don't realize what you have until you lose it."

Kairi shot her a concerned look to which Aria shook her head to wave it off. Shrugging herself, Kairi asked Riku, "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?"

There was silence for a moment before Riku turned around and stared pointedly at both girls. "Thanks to you two. If you guys hadn't come here, I probably would never have thought of any of this. Kairi, Aria, thanks."

Kairi let out a short laugh, replying with, "Hehe, you're welcome."

Aria nodded in agreement and muttered, "No problem, Riku."

They all just watched the sunset for a few more minutes before Aria sighed and hopped off the tree. Stretching her arms out, she hummed in appreciation at the pleasant feeling and suggested, "We should probably head back before our parents start to wonder what's taking so long."

Getting various agreements with the rest, they headed off over the bridge. Kairi and Aria were walking ahead of the boys and Aria knew something was up just by the mischievous gleam in her best friend's eye. "Kairi? Something wrong?" She asked warily.

"Nope!" She replied cheerfully. Giggling, she leaned forward and whispered, "Aria? Do you like Riku?"

The question caught her by surprise and Aria tripped over her feet. "I...wha? What? Kairi?! What would make you ask that?! I like Riku as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less." Aria sputtered out in disbelief.

Giggling again, Kairi pointed out, "Well, he acts a bit different with you."

"He does not!" Aria argued back.

"He does," Kairi replied back easily. "When he fights with you and Sora, the odd time that you do fight, he takes it easier on you than Sora. He also tends to think a lot more about the things he's saying...especially if he knows that it might upset you."

Huffing softly, Aria wrapped her arms around herself and countered, "One, he does not go easy on me. Have you seen some of the bruises I get just from trying to fight him? Two, he, along with Sora, found me when I first arrived here. He saw me when I was at my weakest while Sora ran back to grab Ren. It is embarrassing to know that he saw that. But he did."

Eyes softening, Kairi smiled and bumped shoulders with her. "I'm glad he was there for you back then. Sora too. It must have been scary."

Nodding softly, she admitted, "It was scary. It still is sometimes." Now her own eyes gleamed with mischief and she teased back, wanting to get this kind of conversation away from herself, "How about you? Do you like-like Sora?"

Aria laughed when she noticed Kairi's cheeks get a tinge of red and glanced back to see if the boys were far enough back. Glad to see that they were, she told Kairi, "Between you and me...Sora likes you in the same way."

Kairi's eyes went wide slightly but before she could reply Aria was skipping ahead with a knowing smile on her face. Yes, she missed her father and Ven. Yes, she harbored some upsetness at them both for leaving her. But she had gained friends and a new home in return that she would never have found if they hadn't. Maybe when she found them she'd thank them for that one small blessing.


	5. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I probably should have done one of these on my first chapter but my head was somewhere else. Better late than never I suppose. 
> 
> Anyways I want to give a big thanks to my beta, and online friend, PresumablyAury for helping me with this story. The help is greatly appreciated and you should go check out her story: I Can Only Hold On For So Long. It is an amazing story with many different twists. 
> 
> I would also like to thank everyone that has followed, favourited, put a kudos, bookmarked, and commented on for both AO3 and FFN.

_Donald,_

_Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all, but I've gotta go check into it._

_There's someone with a "key -" the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him and stick with him. Got it?_

_We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

_P.s. Would you apologize to Minnie for me?_

_Thanks pal._

"Oh, Mickey," Minnie sighed in worry.

She reread the letter, carefully looking for any clues, until she couldn't read the words anymore due to tears. This letter was the last connection that she had with Mickey. Her husband; her King...he was gone again. Just like ten years ago.

Minnie knew down insider her that this was something Mickey had to do; his bravery ran deep within him. He felt like it was his duty to do so as well. She just didn't want to sit around and do nothing this time. The town wasn't in danger since Pete was banished all those years ago, but she was unsure of where to start her search for her King.

A soft knock on the door caught Minnie's attention. It was followed by a, "Your Majesty?" and she looked up.

Holding out her hand to her handmaid Daisy, Minne smiled back with just as much sadness and wistfulness. Their husbands had left them; they were both left behind, to look after Disney Town, and to worry and wait. They sighed simultaneously, looking out the window to watch the sunset. It hadn't even been a full day, and Minnie could already feel herself grow older from worry and stress.

"Is there anything we can do?" Daisy asked softly.

Sighing, Minnie glanced down at the letter and replied, "We have to trust the King. But I do believe that there is a clue in this letter somewhere on his whereabouts."

Patting her Queen's hand empathically, Daisy nodded and agreed, "I do trust the King. Just as I trust Donald and Goofy to keep this 'key' person safe and find Mickey. I just wish that I could do more for them than sitting here and waiting for them to return to us."

"So do I, Daisy." Minnie agreed quietly.

_KnockKnockKnock_

A series of rushed knocking on the door caused the two women to look up, along with Minnie calling out, "Come on it," and as soon as she spoke the door swung open hard.

A teenage boy walked in wearing a bright orange t-shirt, white gloved hands that was holding a blue shield that had the King's emblem on it as he pushed open the door. His shield shifted lightly against his side as he poked his head in. "Uh..um...your majesty? I don't mean to intrude...but there's..ah...a strange girl lying asleep on the garden lawn."

Hand flying up to her mouth, Minnie stepped forward with Daisy just behind. "Oh my, this isn't good. Max! Take us to her and we'll check her out. Hopefully, she's okay."

Nodding hurriedly, Max bowed slightly and led his Queen and her handmaid out to the garden. He found it odd that the King left, that his father and Donald had left looking for someone, and that a world went out again. Hopefully, this strange-looking girl had some answers for when she woke up.

* * *

"Oh m…what...hap-"

The voice trickled into Aria's muddled mind. She felt like she was floating in the darkness still. But if she was even being dragged down by the darkness, then what was with the voice?

"Not...sure...fou…"

Voices. There was more than one voice. Aria couldn't place them, but they caught her attention as the words started to become more apparent.

"You...found...her..he.."

Found her? Had she been lost? She couldn't remember anything really other than feeling like she was being dragged down into an abyss.

"I hope she's okay."

That was a female voice. It was filled with worry, and Aria's heart stirred in confusion as it brushed against a gentle warmth.

Wait.

It was starting to come back to her slowly. She knew that warmth. She felt it in the desperate moment when she'd been swallowed whole by the darkness. She had reached out to feel something other than the fear and had brushed against it.

But what happened again? Why am I having trouble remembering where the darkness came from? Why was I feeling it when I was with Sor- Aria's train of through stopped there as the events occurred crashing down on her. The storm with the weird ball of darkness. The pain she had been in. Going with Sora to try and find their friends. Getting trapped in that pool of darkness. Trying to get to Sora and disappearing into it.

Her eyes snapped open in panic as she jolted up into a sitting position. She must have surprised the people that surrounded her from sitting up out of nowhere because she heard two gasps and a manly yelp. Only that Aria let out a scream in fright when she saw talking animals instead of humans like her.

Ignoring the dirt that dug into her palms, Aria scrambled backward until her back hit something hard. Her chest heaved in fright, eyes wide, and she felt exactly how she had ten years ago: terrified to death and wanting her family here.

Looking around wildly at the talking animals, she whispered faintly, "Wha-who are you? Where am I? How did I get here? Where's Sora? Riku? Kairi? Where's my family!?"

The female duck folded her hands in front of her, her voice reassuring to calm the human girl down, simply said, "You are in Disney Town."

"Disney Town? Where's Disney Town?!" Aria questioned, calming down a bit when she realized that they weren't going to harm her. She was still wary of them and kept a cautious gaze on them all.

Minnie took a couple of steps forward, eyes full of kindness and worry, as she explained, "Oh yes, Disney Town is another world. I'm Queen Minnie, this is Daisy and Max. Max was contacted when some habitants of the town found you unconscious here in this spot. Are you alright?"

Aria went utterly still at this news as her face paled even more. She felt faint as thoughts rushed through her mind,  _Unconscious? So I'm in another world, and it looks like I'm by myself again too. But these people seem nice._  Hesitating, Aria shut her eyes and concentrated all around her. It took a few moments to gather up the courage to open up her heart, but when she did, there was nothing to fear.

The world and the three hearts next to her were filled with light. The same light that she had been desperate to feel when she had surrounded by the darkness. It was an odd thing that made her question on how exactly she got here, but with a pounding headache, Aria decided to do a Sora-esque and just go with the flow for now.

 _At least their hearts are filled with light just like this world. There is no darkness here that I can feel, but then again, I didn't go searching really hard. I think I'll give them a chance for now. They deserve that much from helping me. Besides...my heart lead me here but for what reason and why?_  She thought briefly before opening her eyes.

Finding them all staring at her with various looks of worry, Aria flushed in embarrassment. She looked at the ground before apologizing, "Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts...everything is mixed up, and it's confusing. But to answer your question, ma'am, I'm alright, I guess. My head is pounding, my body feels exhausted, and my heart aches in a dull pain, but other than that, I'm better than I was." She paused slightly, remembering her manners, before continuing, "I'm Aria. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Minnie smiled brightly, relief showing in her features and answered happily, "It's a pleasure to meet you too! But we should get you back to Disney Castle, Aria, and let you rest. Then when you feel up to it you can tell us what you remember, and we'll try to help you the best we can."

Smiling softly, Aria replied, "Thank you, Queen Minnie. I greatly appreciate this help, and I...I'll try to remember everything that happened. But I don't hope to impose on any of you longer than necessary. When I figure out what's going on, I'm going to need to find out where my friends are."

Waving her hand, Minnie was quick to reassure the young human girl, "You aren't imposing on us, Aria. We want to help you in any way we can because we like helping people here in Disney Town." Holding out a hand to Aria, she didn't give her a chance to argue before saying, "Come along now, it's a short walk back to Disney Castle."

Unsure about gripping a Queen's hand, Aria eyed it in debate before coming to the conclusion that she might offend the Queen, which is the last thing she wanted to do. Letting Her Majesty helped her up, Aria couldn't help the tinge of curiosity in her voice, "You mentioned that place before...Disney Castle...what is it exactly?"

Daisy was walking slightly behind Queen Minnie, who was leading the group, and turned her slightly to look back at Aria and explained, "Disney Castle is the castle where King Mickey and Queen Minnie live in along with some of the other inhabitants of this world. Let's see... there are Chip and Dale, they work on the Gummi ships, Donald and Goofy, who are the King's personal magician and Captain of the Royal Guard respectively, Max who is Goofy's son and training to be a knight like his father, and then me, who is the Queen's handmaid and Donald's sweetheart."

Mouthing opening slightly in awe, the last of the fear quickly disappeared as Aria breathed out, "Oh wow, that's amazing! The world I'm from didn't have a castle or a kingdom. It's a tiny island that is surrounded by the sea."

Cocking her head, she turned to study Max, who was walking beside her. She chewed on her lip thoughtfully, wanting to talk to him but was very unsure of his potential response. Would he be open like Sora? Or closed off and hard to talk to like Riku? Shutting away those questions because it made her worry and long for her friends, Aria asked softly, "Hey, Max? I was wondering...are you training to become a guard like your father because you want to be like him?"

Unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to say. Max immediately got a defensive look on his face, crossed his arms, and half-snapped, "No, I'm not. I want to be a guard to help keep the people of Disney Town safe. To do that it lines up with what my father is doing."

Surprised at the slight hostility, Aria winced and looked back at the ground. It seemed like he was more like Riku. But she was willing to give him another chance as she apologized quietly, "I'm sorry if I stepped over the line. I didn't mean anything by it. I really didn't. It's just that...if I were in your position, I would be doing it because of my father. I would love what he was doing because it made him happy and that I would want to experience that happiness in my own right."

Sighing to himself, Max rubbed his face, replying equally quiet as he tried to explain, "There's no need to apologize. You didn't say anything wrong, really. I just get...defensive when people comment that I'm like my dad."

Raising an eyebrow, Aria was about to say something before a castle came into view. "Wow…" she mouthed. Before them was a vast white castle with lots of towers that were covered by a blue roofs. Along the path, Aria could make out different shapes from bushes and walking brown sticks. Blinking in surprise, she covered her eyes with her hand to get a better look at what she was seeing.

Her mouth dropped open at walking broomsticks as they passed them, and she made odd squeaking sounds trying to find words. Finally, she managed to squeak out in surprise, "Walking broomsticks!? How are they walking? Do they follow orders? Is it magic? What was the spell? Can you teach it to me?"

Minnie smiled softly at the wonderment on Aria's face while Max snorted in amusement, and Daisy laughed softly. Aria was reminding her of a blonde-haired child she had met ten or eleven years ago. They had the same look of childish wonderment on their faces and it filled Minnie with such proudness and joy.

"Oh yes, they are walking broomsticks. Other than Goofy and Max, they help protect the castle. Magic was used on them by King Mickey long ago when he was first learning from Master Yen Sid. I'm not sure of the exact spell...you'd have to ask the King, but unfortunately, he is away from the Castle at the moment. Though I'm sure you can ask King Mickey when he comes back." She explained happy to share what she could to the girl.

Aria was starting to bounce from excitement, questions about to burst from her mouth before a name stuck out her. "Wait! I'm sorry, Your Majesty, for changing the conversation abruptly...but did you say Yen Sid?" She asked abruptly.

Frowning slightly, Minnie replied curiously, "It's quite alright, Aria. I did say Master Yen Sid. Do you know him?"

Shaking her head slowly, Aria tugged on a strand of her hair as she tried to think back. It was all hazy, but she thought she could remember a time when this guy's name had popped up. After being silent for a few minutes, she answered slowly, "Not personally, no. I think...I think I heard of him from my dad. Mom and dad were arguing, and his name was mentioned. But it's been years since I saw my dad and everything is hazy from when I was younger, so I'm not really sure if I'm remembering it correctly or not."

Max's eyes widened, and he asked in surprise, "It's been years since you saw your dad? But you just asked about your family…" He trailed off uncertainty, figuring that silence was better than digging up bitter memories for her.

Aria: shrugged and sighed softly. "It's...a long and complicated story. The short version is that an accident happened to me ten years ago, and I got separated from my father. I ended up on a different world, Destiny Islands, where I met my new friends and family until...last night ...when I got separated from them because of this unusual storm." She answered quietly, fingers playing with the shells on her bracelet for comfort.

Max shifted uncomfortably, feeling a bit guilty for the harshness of what he had said about his own father earlier, and apologized, "I...I'm sorry. I may not be the best son towards my father, but I can't imagine losing him like that ever."

Aria gave him a tight smile and reassured him as best she could, " It's okay. I've gotten used to it."

Daisy jumped into the conversation and pointed out, "You may have gotten used to it, but you still miss him every day. It is a natural thing to miss someone that you lost. Why I miss my Donald, Minnie misses the King, and Max, though he will deny it, misses Goofy. You are not alone, child. So keep your chin up and a smile on your face. I'm sure that you will see him one day."

Smiling a bit wider, and feeling a bit better, Aria bowed her head slightly and thanked them all again, "Thank you, Lady Daisy, Queen Minnie, and Max. For everything that you're doing to help. It means a lot to me. More than you can ever imagine."

Minnie smiled, hands clasped in front of her, as she said, "It is our pleasure, Aria since we are friends now. And welcome to Disney Castle. You may stay here for as long as needed. Our home is your home. Take the rest of the day to relax and explore the Castle. Tomorrow we will meet up and see if we can figure out what is going on and how to help."

Aria blinked in surprise before laughing softly to herself. She smiled at the Queen and replied with hope filling her voice, "That sounds like an excellent plan, your majesty."


	6. Chapter Five

"Happy appreciation day, Aria!"

The voices mingled together as one loud collective voice, but it didn't stop Aria from seeing each face perfectly. From Sora's grin to Riku's small smile to Kairi's bright eyes. Ren was smiling softly, gazing at her with a look she had come to learn a father's love. Naomi had tears in her eyes but was smiling from ear-to-ear as they all celebrated her being a part of their lives.

It was an odd feeling. Aria could have burst from the joy that they all considered her to be their family. Their friends. And she was happy, and proud enough, to admit to them all, "Thanks, guys. You've made life so much more interesting and enjoyable in these ten years...I don't know what I would have done without any of you. Though you guys are making it seem like it my birthday when it's not...you do know that, right?"

Crossing his arms behind his head, Sora gave her a wide grin. "Yup, we know! You just never told us your real birthday...only your age. Besides, today is about appreciating you in our lives. So why not add your birthday today as well? Feel old yet?"

Rolling her eyes, she blew out a breath and answered, "I never told you my real birthday because I can't remember the actual day. Everything just blurred together when I was younger, and you guys had picked out my 'birth date' when I got here though you moved it up to today for this year. Anyways, yeah...I don't remember anything really about my birthdays before meeting you guys."

A slight tense, heartbreaking silence took over the kitchen at Aria's words. She instantly wished she could take her words back for she knew that all of them, minus Kairi, was remembering the day she arrived very well. Shifting uncomfortably as the horrible memory pressed in on her, Aria was quick to change things to a lighter topic, "I appreciate it though. I've had so many pleasant birthdays since coming here." Turning her attention to Naomi, she asked curiously, "I thought you said you were having dinner instead? Why change your mind to a breakfast? Not that I'm complaining."

Aria waited for an answer while her mouth watered at the sight of all the delicious food Naomi was placing on the table. She licked her lips in anticipation as her stomach gurgled in hunger, the smell of the food drifting softly up to her nose. It all smelled so good! Everything from the eggs to the pancakes to the variety of salads (both vegetable and fruit salads) along with the pile of sandwiches.

She opened her mouth to tell Naomi to not answer that question as she just wanted to dig into the food. However, Sora beat her to it by saying, "Nevermind that, Aria. Who cares why? Look at all this food!"

Naomi's swat to the head had him pouting while Aria giggled alongside Kairi. Riku only smirked and shook his head fondly at his friends. Naomi raised an eyebrow at her son, sighing softly with a smile growing on her lips, answering Aria's question anyway, "I changed it because I knew that you'd want to hang out with your friends later instead of worrying over the dinner. You should enjoy yourself on this day."

"I am," Aria told her honestly.

Ruffling her hair, Ren gave her a quick grin and kiss to the cheek, before standing up and telling them, "Sorry, but I have to leave for work. Have an awesome day, kiddos." He ruffled Sora's hair and kissed Naomi on the cheek quickly before disappearing out the door.

The rest of the breakfast went by with a lot of laughter. Aria's cheeks hurt from smiling so much but it was turning out to be the best day ever. After they were done eating, they all went to help clean up only for Naomi to wave them off.

"Don't worry about helping me clean up. Go and enjoy yourself. Be home before dark!" she shouted as all four kids tore out of the house with many thank yous.

Bouncing on her heels in excitement, Aria spun around to face her friends with a curious look. She had noticed that Sora had been grinning excitedly full of extra energy, while Kairi seemed pleased about something. The only one looking normal was Riku and she could feel the curiosity burn in her to ask them what was up. She knew that Sora would tell her quickly. He never could keep a secret from anyone for long.

Unfortunately, Riku noticed her look and slowed down to walk next to her, catching her attention. They weren't that far off from the boats to get the play island, but the closer they got the slower everyone went. Looking at him curiously, she took another glance backward, only to see Kairi glance at her and Riku before engaging a conversation with Sora. Sighing softly, she kept her place to match Riku's and cocked her head to study him.

He looked the same as usual; silver hair, blue-green eyes, and that cool, calm, collected expression on his face. Hesitantly, she reached out with her heart and relaxed when she only felt the warmth of light. Aria let out a surprised huff as she realized that the only time she felt any kind of darkness inside Riku was when he decided to be competitive with Sora...which was most of the time. Though she did have to admit that it also came out when he started talking about leaving their home for good.

 _Boys! I'll never understand them and the way they think_ , she thought to herself.

"Here. This is for you." Riku told her, coming to a full stop now and tossing her a small rectangular box.

Catching the box in surprise, Aria blinked and asked confused, "Umm...Riku? What is this?"

Rolling his eyes, Riku said simply, "It's a present, Aria. For your birthday."

"Hehehe...oops." She said sheepishly. "I didn't expect you to get me anything. You didn't have to."

Biting back a sigh, he crossed his arms as he faced her now. "You're my friend, Aria. I wanted to get you something. Just open it."

Huffing, Aria resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him and turned her attention back to the box. It was small and she was pleased to find it tied with yellow ribbons. Gently, she tugged on the bow, wrapping the ribbons around her fingers before gingerly opening the lid.

Now she blinked in confusion. Her eyebrows furrowed as she asked, "Uh, thanks? What is it supposed to be, Riku?"

Sighing softly now, he reached over and opened up the metal rectangle. Different tools popped out of every side and he explained, "It's a multitool knife. Small enough for you to put in your pocket. Practical enough for using for when we leave."

"Ooohh," Aria exclaimed. The excitement started bubbling inside her as she snatched the knife away from him to study it. Bouncing on her feet, Aria's eyes were bright, and at that moment she reacted without thinking, as she threw her arms around him in a hug. "I love it, Riku! This will be so helpful. Thank you! Thank you!"

Riku's body tensed slightly underneath her touch before he relaxed. He wasn't used to Aria being a touchy person with him when it came to things like hugs. Those were things she normally saved for Sora and Kairi. It was kind of nice having her hug him like this as he patted her back a couple of times before dropping his hand. "Your welcome."

Blushing softly, she realized what she had done in her happiness and quickly let go of him. Backing away, Aria fiddled with the knife, feeling a bit embarrassed at her behavior. Sure, she was thrilled that he'd gotten her something so thoughtful, but for some reason hugging Riku had felt different than embracing Sora or Kairi.

"Hey! Why did we stop?" Sora asked curiously. Peering between Aria and Riku, he cocked his head at Aria's red face before landing on the gift in her hands. "Riku! I thought you told us to wait until later to give Aria our gifts?"

Covering her mouth, Kairi giggled at the exasperated look on Aria's face. Looping her arm through Aria's, she tugged slightly before they started walking. "Let's share a boat and just head to the island. Riku and Sora look like they're about to get into one of their competitions."

* * *

The ride over had been quick and easy with two people rowing. They had a blast laughing, joking, and teasing each other. Deciding that they should gather food for the trip since they'd be leaving for their adventure soon, they dumped coconuts, fish, and bottles of water onto the raft.

"How long do you think they'll be doing that stupid race of theirs?" Aria asked, bored.

Shrugging, Kairi settled down on the raft. Rolling her eyes at the shrug, Aria shifted on her feet as boredom started to kick in. She looked over at Kairi only to find her red-head friend hunched over. Huffing in annoyance, Aria flopped down and shut her eyes to nape until Kairi was done whatever she was doing or the boys finally came over.

Kairi looked up briefly before she started weaving together her present for Aria. She had managed to find a lot of pretty and different shells small enough to fit around the thin brightly multi-colored cord she got from Riku. She hadn't wanted to start it so late but the Mayor had her doing chores all of last night so she couldn't begin to it.

Making sure that the shells stayed in their proper place, Kairi curled the bracelet in her palms and clasped her hands behind her back. She giggled to herself when she saw Aria laying down in the sand about to go to nap just like how Sora had been the other day. Walking over to her, she leaned over Aria's sleeping form and spoke loudly, "You're just like Sora. It's no wonder why everyone thinks that you two are brother and sister."

Opening one eye, Aria sighed dramatically before pushing herself up. Giving Kairi a pointed look, she said dryly, "I am not just like Sora. But, I live with the guy...so that does make us brother and sister in a sense."

Kairi sat down beside Aria in the sand. Turning her gaze to her friend, she said, "It must be nice living with Sora and his parents. They're nice people."

"They are," Aria agreed softly. Playing with the end of the yellow ribbon in her hair, Aria continued, "I feel bad, ya know? I...they gave me everything, Kairi. They gave me their hearts, their love, a home, an actual family even! But...while I love them...I can't give them the one thing I know they'd love to hear from me. I can't call them mom and dad even though I love them like that."

Fiddling with the seashells, Kairi's face fell slightly before she brightened up. Scooting closer to Aria, she let go of the bracelet to wrap one hand around Aria's wrist. Squeezing gently, she mused, "I think that while Ren and Naomi would love to hear those names from you…" she paused to word her next sentences carefully, "While they'd love it, I don't think that matters to them, Aria. Just knowing that you love them back is the best thing they can ever ask for from you. I'm sure that they understand why and they don't push you to call them mom and dad, do they?"

Immediately shaking her head, Aria was quick to defend them, "No, they don't. They'd never do that because they aren't like that. I just...I don't know. I feel like I should give them more."

"It'll happen when it happens. I'm sure they know, Aria, so don't beat yourself up about it." Kairi told her softly.

"You think so?" Aria asked hopefully.

"Yup! I do." Kairi answered brightly. Smiling widely, she snatched Aria's wrist and with the help of her other hand slipped the seashell bracelet on. "Happy Birthday, Aria. I made something for you."

Lifting her hand, Aria smiled softly. Dangling from her wrist was cord decorated with different seashells. "Thanks, Kairi. I love it," she said after studying it.

"Hehehe, you're welcome," Kairi replied with a bright smile.

* * *

The rest of the day had gone in a blur for Sora. After his and Riku's race, they had started another fight between them that lead to more taunting from Riku about the paopu fruit, Kairi, and Aria. When they had finally made it to the island that they played on they saw that the girls had done the rest of the work. With all of that out of the way, they spent the rest of the day having water fights, talking, play fighting, racing, and just overall fun until it was time to go home after watching the sunset.

Now Sora lay on his bed, twirling the token he had carved for Aria in between his fingers. It was a weird little thing that he'd carved out of wood but he felt in his heart that Aria would love it. The only problem had been that there hadn't been an excellent time to give it to her between relaxing with each other and finishing the raft.

"You aren't sleeping again, are you Sora?"

Sora jumped up, startled, as a face appeared in front of his own. "Ahh! Aria! What was that for?" he asked huffily, crossing his arms at her.

She put on an innocent face and shrugged, "Got bored. I decided to come to bother my brother for entertainment. Which, I might add, was priceless."

"Haha, very funny," Sora grumbled before relaxing against the wall.

Eyes lighting up at Sora's silent invitation as he scooted over a bit, Aria jumped on the bed and curled up beside him with her head resting on his shoulder. Gazing around his room, she took in everything from the homemade cardboard rocket hanging from the ceiling to the clothes covered floor. It was just so him and she loved it. She smiled gently and said randomly, "Sora? Never change who you are."

"Huh? What's that about, Aria?" Sora asked confused.

"Nothing. Just promise me. Please? Never change who you are." She pleaded to need to have this reassurance that he'd always be Sora at heart.

Raising an eyebrow in slight worry, Sora threw his arm around her shoulders and promised, "I will, Aria. Promise."

"Good," she murmured, letting silence fall over them. It was a comfortable silence that neither bothered breaking until Sora remembered the token he had carved.

Sitting up straight, he spun towards Aria, holding his hands out with the token laying in them. "Here. I carved this for your present. I know it's weird and different...but I think it suits you anyways." He stopped himself before he could start to ramble.

Leaning forward, Aria's mouth dropped at the token in his hands. It was small enough to fit on her new bracelet and she just loved the design on it. In the middle of it was a little rock that was painted a bright green that had two funny looking things that were spiraling around it. Taking it into her own hands for a closer look, Aria could now make out that the strange looking things were two flurries of wind around it.

"Oh, Sora...it's beautiful. I love it." She whispered gently, cradling it closer to her heart. "It reminds me of something important...but I can't figure out what exactly. Thank you. I'll cherish this always."

Rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, he grinned despite the tinge of redness on his cheeks, "I'm glad you like it so much. I wasn't sure about it honestly. It just felt right in my heart."

Aria was about to answer when thunder crackled near them. Staring at each other briefly, both of them turned to look out the window. Aria's eyes went wide when she saw the lightning come down over the island that the raft was on.

A sinking feeling entered her and she curled her fingers over the token hard. Her breath hitched a bit as the storm got worse. Sora, on the other hand, was curious as he muttered, "A storm?"

Until it hit him where exactly the storm was over, "Oh, no, the raft! Aria, we need to get to the raft right now!"

"Wait? What!? Sora! You want us to go into that storm for our raft, of all things? That's completely insane!" She protested, trying to get him to stay where it was safe. "We can build another raft later on if this one is ruined."

Turning to stare at Aria with an odd expression, he shook his head and stated, "No, we can't! We need to make sure that it's alright. I'm going to head out and check on it even if you don't come."

Groaning to herself, Aria watched as Sora slipped out his window by using the tree next to it. Looking at his figure and then at the token, she growled to herself softly, "Stupid boy. He's going to get us hurt one day by just acting without thinking."

With that, she was out of the window and running to catch up to him. Pushing herself to run faster, it didn't take her long to be next to him. Huffing out in between breaths, she told him, "When, and not if, when Ren and Naomi find out about us sneaking out during a storm for the raft...I'm blaming you."

Giving her the thumbs up, he agreed readily, "That's fine. I'll tell them that you tried to stop me and came with me to make sure I didn't get hurt."

Grunting in response, they continued to run to the docks and Aria jumped into Sora's rowboat. She saw no need to have them take both of their boats when they'd get there faster in one. It wasn't long before they were on the island and got a closer look at the "storm". It was a big, black ball in the sky that had lightning shooting around it. Aria could notice that it was growing slightly with each rumble and the wind was getting harsher with each clap of thunder.

Immediately Aria felt an alarming amount of fear hit her out of nowhere. She gasped as she doubled over, clutching at her heart in pain, and would have fallen over if Sora hadn't grabbed her.

"Aria? You okay?" Sora asked worriedly. He could feel her nails digging into his arm but he didn't dare let her go in case she got hurt somehow. His eyes wandered up to the black hole that was raging above them and muttered, "What is that thing? Is that thing hurting you?"

"No, I'm not okay." She wheezed out in pain. She wasn't used to this amount of darkness being so close to her. When it had been Terra it had been brief and the same thing went for Riku. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to explain, "It...hurts...like my heart is being overwhelmed by pain...and being dragged down by something heavy. It hurts, Sora!"

Sora bit his lip as he watched her cry in pain. He'd never seen her like this before and it was scaring him. Rubbing the back of his head nervously, he looked around before noticing Kairi and Riku's boats. Helping Aria up onto the doc, he made sure to keep her close to him before telling her, "Umm, Aria? Riku's boat is here. Kairi's too. Let's go get them and then we'll head home, okay?"

Nodding, Aria winced in pain as they got closer to the darkness ball. Granted they had only taken a couple of steps before these hunched over shadow creatures came out of nowhere and surrounded them. Breathing heavily, Aria let go of Sora and got into a fighting position herself. She didn't like how these creatures added onto the heaviness and pain in her heart but she was going to try and fight them the best she could.

Aria ducked out of the way as the creatures leaped at her. She could hear Sora yell and grunt as he swung his toy sword around trying to hit them. But the hits didn't do anything to the creatures. It didn't even harm them a tiny bit! Aria felt a bit of dread well up inside her until Sora grabbed her arm and they ran away.

Running away was slow as more and more dark creatures popped out and kept attacking them. The more creatures that showed up the more Aria's heart hurt in pain. It was at one moment when a bunch of creatures showed up that a particularly painful shot went through her, causing her to stumble over her feet. Her arm was ripped out of Sora's hand and she cried out sharply when she landed.

Pushing herself up, a wave of dizziness hit her and she assumed it was from the draining sensation she was feeling. She could hear him call her name in worry, but at that moment, she didn't dare take her eyes off of the creatures that were surrounding her. She tried to dodge them by rolling, but they liked attacking all at once or flattening themselves on the ground to escape her kicking. It didn't help that she was desperate for the heaviness to go away and to feel alright again.

It was when one of them leaped at her from above that the strangest thing happened. She screamed in fear, hearing Sora call her name, and she put her hands in front of her face to protect herself. Her hands instantly felt warm like there was heat coming off of them and then there was a bright light that surrounded her.

The next thing she knew, Sora was kneeling beside her, hands checking her for injuries as he asked, "Aria! Are you okay? What..what was that? You just...there was a light and then...the creatures were gone."

Aria was breathing heavily, exhaustion creeping up on. She leaned against him and stared at her hands in wonder. "I...I don't know. They were attacking me...I wanted it to stop...the heaviness to go away...to not get hurt and then my hands felt...warm? Yes, they warmed up a bit and...then there was that light."

Sora stared at her in wonder before noticing that she looked exhausted and weak. He helped her up, letting her lean on him for support and looking for any sign of his other friends. That was when he noticed Riku standing on the small island attached to the bridge. "Look! There's Riku. Now we only need to find Kairi and we'll head back." he exclaimed.

Nodding, she let him start to lead her over to Riku. Only to stop when she stumbled into a black hole on the ground that appeared out of nowhere. A scream of fear erupted from her as she clung to Sora's arm in a death grip.

Sora spun around when he heard the scream. He reached up with his hand, the one that Aria wasn't clinging to, and wrapped it around her wrist tightly. He pushed his weight down on his feet and tried to back up to get her out of the hole. But it was useless as the more he tried the more Aria went down and he got dragged closer to the black hole.

"Sora! Help me! Get me out of this!" She screeched, her voice rising in fear. She was done with this. With all of this! She just wanted to go home and sleep.

But it was for nothing as Sora's arm slid out of her hand and she was starting to get dragged down deeper. Her struggles intensified as her panic overtook any kind of logic she had. She gasped in fear, tears falling freely now, as she desperately reached her fingers out towards Sora. She could see Sora struggling to get to her, fear on his face as he tried his hardest to make his way towards her with his hand held out. Stretching her arm more, Aria nearly cried out in relief when she felt the tips of their fingers curl around each other. Only for there to be a sharp tug on her and they were ripped apart. The last thing she saw was Sora yelling something in fear.

Then as the darkness swallowed her whole, Aria reached out blindly with her heart for something bright. Anything to combat the fear that was overwhelming her. Only for her to succumb to the darkness just as her heart brushed against something warm.


	7. Chapter

Disney Castle was magical.

Aria had to hold herself back from jumping forward to check out the littlest things that caught her attention. Everything had magic in it; from the brooms to the buckets, to the odd citizen she ran into (they were very friendly and welcoming), to all of the bright colours that made you feel warm. It was like her own personal safe place. Nothing wrong could touch her here, but she had thought the same thing as Destiny Islands and look how that turned out. The only thing that she wished for was that her friends were here to enjoy this with her. She knew that Sora and Kairi would get a kick out of all the magic in this place.

Though she noticed something odd about this new world: she could only feel light. Granted, she wasn't trying really hard to search for the darkness, but generally on any world, except for the place Ven had lived which had lots of light, there were equal amounts of light and darkness . It made her curious about what was causing this phenomenon, but she was hesitant to ask Queen Minnie.

The Queen had kept her word and had let Aria rest in one of the guest rooms. Now that she had slept, Aria was feeling much more like herself minus the fact that she was all alone again. She was trying very hard to not dwell on that thought because it brought back unwanted emotions and memories.

Wandering the halls aimlessly, Aria fiddled with the seashell bracelet Kairi had made. Loneliness crept up on her, and she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She missed them so much, and it had only been a day. She missed talking about anything and everything with Kairi. Kairi was her best friend; someone she could always count on to understand her when the boys couldn't.

_Aria gripped the back of Ren's shirt fearfully. She had been with Ren and his family for a few weeks now, settling into a rough routine that had her relaxed. But then whispers of another person appearing on the island had shown up on the island and Aria wasn't sure who this new person was. She just hoped they weren't scary like Terra had been._

_A hand on her head caused her to look up. Ren smiled down softly and asked, "Don't you want to meet the new girl, Aria?" He gestured to Sora, who was talking excitedly to Naomi, and Riku, who was looking more perked up than usual, and his parents._

_Shaking her head vigorously, Aria whimpered fearfully and pressed harder against him. She wanted to tell her that she was scared. She tried to tell him what had happened a few weeks ago before they had found her. She wanted the comfort of her father and mother, but she couldn't get the words out yet. Instead, she just buried her face into Ren's side and tried to make herself invisible._

_"Hello, Aria. It's nice to see you again. You're looking better. Are you enjoying it here on the island?" A warm voice asked her._

_Shifting her body towards the voice, Aria licked her lips nervously as she stared up at the Mayor of the islands. A comforting hand was placed on top of her head, causing her to glance up at Ren. His small smile made her relax as she whispered softly, "Hello, Mr. Mayor. It's nice here. Warm and sunny."_

_Laughing genuinely, the Mayor agreed, "It is hot here and it's such a great day for playing in the water, don't you think?"_

_Shaking her head in disagreement, Aria glared slightly at the ocean. Riku and Sora had tried to get her into the water but she had refused. It was too vast and pretty looking to play in. She had gotten strange looks from both boys, but luckily, they never said anything to her about it._

_"Ah well, the water isn't for anyone." Kneeling down, the Mayor beckoned for Aria to come closer._

_Shifting on her feet, Aria hesitated momentarily before moving closer to him. Once she was close to him, hand still gripping Ren's shirt tightly, he whispered in her ears, "I think the ocean is too pretty to play in too."_

_The Mayor studied her with a soft smile when the little girl let out the smallest of giggles. He felt terrible for her, he indeed did, but he honestly thought that Aria would benefit from meeting Kairi. Both girls had a lot in common, and it would do both of them well to have a female friend. So, he asked her, "You want to know another secret?"_

_Aria's eyes went wide at the thought of learning another secret from the Mayor. Peering up at him, she bit her lip, but her curiosity was starting to become more apparent on her face. Finally, she gave up on trying to hide it, Aria nodded excitedly._

_Laughing now, it was the first time either older male had seen any form of excitement on her face, the Mayor pointed over at Kairi letting Aria catch a glimpse of her for the first time. "Do you see that little red-haired girl over there? Well, she showed up on the island just like you did a few weeks ago." He told her seriously._

_Aria was full-on curious now as her fear disappeared. She could see Sora talking animatedly with the girl while Riku stood slightly back but was asking the odd question whenever Sora stopped for a breath. But Aria's attention was on the red-headed girl. Because despite being somewhere without her family, that other little girl was smiling._

_She was smiling and giggling awkwardly at Sora. It made Aria feel ashamed for crying like she had when they had found her. But she looked closer at the girl and noticed that underneath the smile was a hint of sadness. It was hidden very well, but Aria knew the kind of sorrow that this girl was feeling. It made her heart ache for her, and she asked softly, "She did? She woke up here by herself just like me?"_

_Nodding softly, the Mayor replied, "Yes, she did. She can't remember anything either. Her name is Kairi, and you want to know something, Aria? I think she could use a friend like you."_

_Confused, Aria cocked her head and asked, "Why me?"_

_Smiling sadly, the Mayor hesitated before answering truthfully, "Because you both need someone that can understand the loss you're both going through. Just like you, Kairi lost her family, her home, and her world. That's a big loss to deal with for someone so young. Out of anyone here, you can relate to her the best."_

_Aria squirmed uncomfortably at the reminder of what she had lost before returning her gaze back to Kairi. "She's like me. She's sad...scared...lonely," she mumbled, voicing her thoughts aloud._

_That caught the attention of both male adults. They shared a look before Ren questioned, "Hm? Aria, did you say something?"_

_Aria blinking up at him, a soft flush came across her face as she realized that they had heard her. Kicking at the sand, she looked down before glancing up quickly. She looked between the ground, the adults, and the new girl before coming to a decision._

_A decision that made her heart feel lighter than it had in weeks._

_For the first time since she had arrived here, Aria smiled brightly up at them and exclaimed, "I'm gonna be her friend! She's like me ...scared and lonely...wanting her family back. I can help her like how daddy or Ven or Aqua or Terra helped people. No more being scared and lonely."_

_Ren was shocked to see the sudden smile on Aria's face. He felt his shock wear off, and he smiled back at her. Reaching down, he ruffled her hair, causing some black strands to stand up on end and he laughed openly at the surprised squeal she made. "Then go on. Go introduce yourself to her," he told her, giving her a soft push towards the three children._

_Aria hesitated slightly at the shove before slowly making her way over shyly. She was just outside of them, uncertain on how to make herself known when Sore spun around and grinned at her. He greeted her enthusiastically, bragging to the new girl - Kairi - that she was his sister while Riku gave her a small welcoming smile. Aria only relaxed when Kairi looked at her, smiled, and greeted her in a friendly way._

Aria let out a wet laugh at the memory. She couldn't believe it now that she had been so scared back then of Kairi. The girl wouldn't hurt a fly if she could help it. Letting go of the bracelet, Aria made her fingers moved over to her pocket as she gripped something cold in her hand. Pulling it out, Aria nearly burst out crying at the knife Riku had given her. He was her teacher. Always teaching her things that he deemed necessary just so that she would be safe. Like learning how to open a coconut, how to fish, how to row the boat, and how to fight. He had always been more patient with her than he was when fighting with Sora.

_A yelp escaped her as she hit the ground hard, toy sword flying off the side. Blinking up at Riku, who stood over her with his own wooden sword pointed down at her, Aria wondered how she had been knocked down again. She was trying so hard, but she just couldn't seem to get the hang of it._

_Holding a hand out to her, Riku motioned for her to get up. Generally, by now, he would have been impatient with Sora, but this was Aria. She was different than Sora. How had his mom put it? Aria was more delicate than Sora, so he had to be gentler with her. Besides, he hadn't liked seeing her cry like she had when they had first met._

_"Come on, Aria, get up. We'll try again. This time, try to anticipate that I'm going to use my ankle to hook around your own foot before I disarm you. You need to move your feet! Keep them busy."_

_Aria sighed and bit back a groan. She wasn't meant to be a fighter like Riku and Sora. Nor did she enjoy fighting one bit. It scared her. She could still see flashes of Master Eraqus and Terra fighting...the blackness that had surrounded Terra...her daddy's yell...Ven pushing her away...and waking up here alone. It played over and over every time she went to fight Riku. She just couldn't help that the fear welled up every single time._

_Aria was pulled out of her thoughts from Sora's cheers. She knew that Kairi would have been cheering her right alongside him, but the Mayor had kept her at home today. So, Sora was sitting on the ground by the trees, cheering her on by himself, "Go, Aria! You can do it; I know you can! Beat Riku for me!"_

_Giggling at Sora's silliness, Aria felt some of the fear ebb away as she allowed Riku to pull her up. Aria stretched once she was on her feet, then nodded to Riku, "Okay, let's go over this one more time."_

_Nodding, Riku waited until Aria was in position before pointing out softly, "Okay, Aria. We're just going to practice the movements and not actually fight this time. First, make sure that your grip is tight. Don't forget to keep your front foot forward."_

_He watched as she got ready, only to walk over to her and move her arm slightly over, before getting into his own stance. Ignoring Sora on the sidelines, Riku focused his entire attention on Aria. Then he simply said, "Go."_

_Taking that as her cue, Aria let out a small cry and lunged forward with her sword swinging. Like all the other times Riku blocked the blow and pushed her away. But this time he didn't attack back and instead he motioned for her to come at him again._

_"Again," he repeated._

_Repeating her movements with the same results, Aria felt frustrated by the time Riku called an end to it. She was panting hard, hands resting on her knees, as she half glared at Riku. She opened her mouth to say something only to be interrupted by Sora. "That was amazing, Aria! You did better than me! Other than the first time, Riku never knocked you down." He told her cheerfully._

_Realizing that was true, Aria felt a rush of warmth in her chest as a smile grew on her face. Riku hadn't attacked her at all that time. She wasn't exactly sure what he had been doing, but she felt a bit more confident and less afraid now._

Riku had taught her so much that day. He had taught her how to properly attack, he'd taught her that there was a way to beat the fear she felt. Smiling, she whispered as she placed the knife away, "Thanks, Riku."

A green glint attached to the seashell bracelet that caught her attention. Tears fell silently as Aria stared at the pendant Sora had given her. Sora was optimistic, saw the good in people, and he had given her everything she needed without asking for anything in return. He had indeed become her rock. Someone she could turn to when she needed him the most.

But she had lost him exactly how she had lost Ven. Both of them gone by the darkness.

Aria clutched her heart in pain as she staggered into the wall. The overwhelming sense of grief and loss mixed in very well with the fear. She just wanted them back...to go back to how it was before that ball of darkness showed up. She didn't want to be alone again, yet the doubts were piling up before she could stop them. The same doubts and fears that still haunted her to this day.

_They left you because you were weak._

_Scaredy cat._

_All you ever do is cry and be afraid. Part of the reason why they left you._

_It's why your new family will leave you._

_Your friends too._

_They won't want to be around someone like you. It's embarrassing._

_Aria clutched her hair as she curled up into a ball in the corner of the room. Thunder crackled above her room, causing her terrified sobs to be drowned out. Her pyjamas bottoms were wet from her tears, but she didn't care cause the voice kept whispering nasty things into her ear._

_She didn't see the door creak open slightly or hear the soft footsteps that crossed her bedroom floor. But she did feel arms circling around her and being pressed into something warm._

_"Why're ya crying?" Sora asked softly, resting his head on Aria's quivering shoulder._

_Her answer was to wail louder. Aria's small body shook harder from her sobs and the fear causing Sora to curl himself around her more. He hated seeing her cry like this. It made his heart twist in an unknown emotion that he didn't like._

_"It's okay, Aria. I wanna help you but I can't unless you tell me why you're crying like this." Sora whispered softly._

_"I - I'm sc - scared," she hiccupped out. Rolling over to face Sora, Aria buried her face into his shoulder._

_Sora scrunched his face up at the tears and snot getting on him but was quick to pull her closer. "Scared of what? It's only a storm, Aria. I'll keep you safe."_

_Shaking her head that he'd gotten it wrong, she curled her fingers into his top as she whispered hoarsely, "Scared that you'll leave me like everyone else has. Like mommy and daddy and Ven... they're all gone, and you will be too."_

_"Nu-uh! I'll always be here! You'll never lose me! Or Kairi! Or Riku! We're best friends... we'll always be by each other side." Sora told her firmly._

_"No, you won't! Ven and daddy promised the same thing, and they're gone! I'll be all alone again! I don't wanna be alone... it's scary!" Her voice rose into a sharp cry._

_"Aria…" Sora whispered painfully. His heart thumped painfully in his chest, and a lone tear fell down his cheek. "I'm sorry, Aria. I never meant to hurt you. It was for your own protection." The words came out of nowhere leaving Sora confused about why he had said that._

_"Hurt me? Sora...you never hurt me...why are you apologizing?" Aria asked softly, looking up at him with red-rimmed eyes._

_"I don't know. I...my heart told me too." Sora replied, just as softly. Arms tightening around her, Sora shifted them both into a more comfortable position, saying, "Aria...if I ever leave you just know that I will always find you. You're my sister...one of my best friends... I'll always be there for you because our hearts are connected."_

_Hiccupping, Aria rubbed away the excess tears. Being here with Sora and his warmth drove her fears away. Snuggling into him, she yawned and asked sleepily, "Promise?"_

_"I promise Aria."_

_With that comfort, Aria allowed herself to fall asleep, finally feeling like her worries were nothing extraordinary._

"Aria? Are you okay? Are you in pain? You're clutching your chest something fiercely." Max asked worriedly, moving closer to her with hovering hands.

Not even realizing that she had shut her eyes, Aria looked up at him in confusion. With the memory fading way, she could clearly remember the promise Sora had made to her: he'd find her. She knew he would, but she wasn't going to just sit here crying her eyes out this time. No, it was time that she started looking for her friends just as they were looking for.

Immediately, she swiped at her eyes, cheeks still wet from her tears, and gave him a small smile. "I'm fine, Max. I was just thinking of my friends and got lost in some memories." She reassured him.

"Are you sure those were good memories?" He asked, cautiously. "Cause I've never seen anyone look so painful from good memories."

Brushing her hair down, Aria straightened her clothes and nodded, "They were good memories. They reminded me of what I need to be doing instead of sitting here worrying or crying over it."

Cocking his head at her, Max grinned slightly and told her, "I suppose that's a good thing because Queen Minnie wishes to talk to you in the library. She wants to show you the letter King Mickey left and discuss what's going to happen next."

"Okay, let's go then. I don't want to keep the Queen waiting." Aria replied as they headed off to the library.

* * *

"This. Is. The. Best. Room. Ever!" Aria squealed in awe.

Books lined the entire room from floor to the roof. A table was placed in the middle of the room. Already sitting around it was Queen Minnie and Daisy with a piece of paper resting on it.

Queen Minnie laughed softly at the young girl's excitement. It made her happy to see such a jovial expression on Aria's face.

Flushing in embarrassment for acting foolishly in front of the Queen, Aria kicked her foot against the carpet and apologized, "Sorry. It's just that I have never seen so many books in my life! They're just asking to be plucked down and read."

Minnie waved off the apology good-naturedly, "No need to apologize, Aria. The library is one of my favourite rooms to be in other than the music room. Oh, how I just love reading a good book or listening to some music."

Max glanced at Queen Minnie and then cut off Aria's response. He was feeling fidgety now that they finally might be getting somewhere close to finding out what his dad was doing. "I hate to interrupt this conversation, your majesty, but you called us here to inform Aria on what is going on."

Daisy patted Minnie's hand sympathetically since she knew that Minnie was only trying to keep the worry for the King at bay. She reminded them all quietly, agreeing with Max, "Max is right Minnie. As much as I would love to keep that beautiful air of happiness on Aria's face, she needs to know what is going on."

Max nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides, maybe she can give us some insight on where King Mickey went and why he left this mission to Donald and my dad. Maybe she even knows who this 'key' is."

Aria was quite lost as she looked at the three of them with a lost expression. She remembered them mentioning a letter, the King being gone and leaving his right-handed men with a mission. Speaking up, she asked curiously. "Umm, sorry to interrupt, but what is this 'key' you guys keep mentioning?"

Minnie sighed softly to herself, wringing her hands together in worry, and explained seriously, "We aren't sure exactly what this 'key' is. The only thing that we know for sure is that Mickey sent Donald and Goofy to look for him because he's crucial to our survival." Pausing, she handed Aria the letter, "Here. This will explain it better. Hopefully, you can pick up some clues on where we can start looking for the King or even Donald and Goofy."

Aria took the letter in her hands gently, not wanting to ruin it, and read over it slowly. The more she read, the deeper she would frown before finally asking, "I don't mean to be rude to any of you...but why don't you just head on over to..." She paused to glance down at the name of the world, "Traverse Town and find this Leon guy? It seems that's more than likely Donald and Goofy would have gone if they were starting off by following this letter."

Daisy spoke up again to explain, "We would have, but you see we only have one Gummi ship at the moment."

Max made a strange noise and added, "That's the one that my dad and Donald are using to travel around."

Aria hummed in thought as she took in this new information. Chewing her lip thoughtfully, she reread the letter once more and spoke aloud to herself to make sure she had the facts straight. "Okay, that does pose a problem. We need to get to Traverse Town but have no way to get there. The Gummi ship is already being used which means that we're stuck in Disney Town…"

Trailing off, Aria unconsciously reached out with her heart and felt the light surrounding her. Furrowing her eyebrows, she remembered the pool of darkness that had swallowed her whole and spat her out here.

That darkness swallowed me up like a portal...if the darkness can do that then maybe the light can? Thinking about it now...I believe that the giant ball of darkness had something to do with the smaller pools of darkness and those weird creature things. But didn't I do damage to those odd creatures?

Eyes going wide at that thought, Aria looked down at her hands in confusion. When those weird creature things attacked Sora and I...my hands glowed white and I hurt them. If I can find out what exactly I did and if there's a connection between that big ball of darkness and the smaller pools then maybe I can try to recreate it using this white magic?

Minnie looked worriedly at Aria once the girl trailed off for some time. "Aria? Is something wrong?" She asked.

Blinking, Aria groaned softly before shaking her head. She was silent for a minute before telling them, "I don't know. It's just a stupid thought that I just had." Going silent to gather the strength to open up to them, she continued, "It's just...the night that I lost my world, I was out looking for my friends with my brother, Sora. We noticed this huge black ball over one of the islands and when we got there...we came upon the strangest thing."

Max looked at her curiously. He couldn't understand what could be more frightening than a big ball of darkness. "Stranger than that ball of darkness? How so?"

Huffing, Aria crossed her arms defensively, and said, "These black creatures were running around. Whenever we'd get near them, they'd attack us, but Sora didn't do any damage to them with his wooden sword." Licking her lips nervously, her hands dropped to play her shirt as she muttered, "But when I got attacked my hands glowed white and this...light, I guess you can call it, shot out of them and destroyed the creature."

Daisy leaned forward to study Aria carefully before turning to look at Minnie. Suggesting softly to Minnie, "White light? That sounds like magic to me. Your Majesty, I don't wish to impose on you, but do you think that you can show Aria some of your magic? It sounds like they may be similar."

Aria's eyes nearly popped out of her face at this information, and she squealed excitedly. "You can use magic, your Majesty?" She asked in one breath.

Minnie looked at Aria with a fond smile on her face. Aria reminded her of herself when she was younger. So full of life and a willingness to learn. She just couldn't help but want to help this young girl grow into the woman that she could see hiding underneath the surface.

"Oh, yes, I do use magic. I don't use it often, you see. Only when it is needed for me. But Daisy is correct on that it sounds like you use magic similar to mine. I suppose it wouldn't hurt for a small demonstration." She answered merrily.

Stepping back a few feet, Minnie raised one of her hands, and a small ball of white light hovered over her hand. "This here is a simple ball of light. A small thing but when needed it can be quite useful when battling against the darkness."

"That's amazing, your Majesty."

"Wow...can you teach me how to do that?!"

Blinking in surprise, the two teens looked at each other when their words combined together before bursting out into laughter. Minnie and Daisy shared a glance before smiling fondly at them, being reminded of their own friendship at that stage.

Answering each of them, Minnie let the white ball shimmer out, "Why thank you, Max. And Aria, I can teach you how to access your magic more easily but to learn spells... I'm afraid that I won't be much help in that department."

Leaning back onto her heels, Aria tried to hide her disappointment before cheering up. "That's more than fine by me, your Majesty. Anything that I can learn about magic is more knowledge than I have right now." Pausing to get herself back on track, Aria continued on, "But I have to say that I noticed that Disney Castle, and Disney Town by extent, has very little darkness to it. Which caught my attention because I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it will work or not."

Cocking his head curiously, Max studied Aria before asking bluntly, "You can tell that there is little darkness? I suppose that means that you can feel the light too? And that all of this has to do with your idea?"

Surprise echoed across her face; Aria smiled brightly that someone had caught on quickly. Perhaps the two older women had caught on earlier, but they hadn't said anything to her about it. Turning her gaze to Max, Aria was explained to them, "I can feel the darkness and light. I have always been able to...especially in people. When the darkness came to my home, I noticed that the pools of darkness were tied to the big huge ball. It got me thinking that -"

"That if the darkness could create portals that lead you here, then you can possibly create one made of light to get us to Traverse Town." Max finished, eyes glistening in excitement.

A look of uncertainty came across Minnie's face as she considered the option. "Oh my... I'm not too sure, Aria. I mean you just discovered that you had powers much less having never used them except for the one time. Even if you did manage to control them enough to use them...you have no idea if you'll be able to create a portal to let us travel through."

Aria looked down at the ground, hair falling to cover her face, as she said softly, "I know, your Majesty. Every point that you just made is true. I don't have control over it. I don't know enough about them yet. But what I do know is this: Sora made a promise to find me if I ever lost him. I won't sit around and wait for him to come to me. I need to go find him. To find Kairi and Riku and bring us back to our families. I won't let this simple matter of darkness or not knowing my powers stop me from finding them. I refuse to lose anyone else anymore."

Softening her features, Aria looked up at them with pleading eyes. "Please, your Majesty. If I weren't serious about this, then I wouldn't be asking for your help. Your help to teach me enough about my powers to help all of us find the ones we love. I'm not sure about you, but I don't want to sit around anymore and just watch while everyone else does something useful. I want to be out there by their sides helping them. And for that to happen, I need your help."

A tense silence echoed in the library as Queen Minnie and Aria stared at each other. Daisy stood straighter beside her Queen, foot-tapping lightly against the ground, while Max shifted uncomfortably at the silence.

Minnie felt herself be torn into two different directions. The Queen part of her wanted to put her foot down and tell Aria no. That she should just leave it to Mickey and the others to fight. That she had responsibilities here. But then the other part wanted to go ahead and teach Aria the magic she desired. To go searching for her King and to help him, unlike how it had been ten years ago.

The latter part won out as Minnie sighed softly. "You make such a strong argument, Aria. I will teach you what little I know, and we will try this portal idea. But for now, I wish for you to rest up more. Gather your strength, and we will begin tomorrow morning."

Aria smiled brightly, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of her chest. In a moment of pure happiness, Aria threw her arms around the Queen and hugged her tightly. "You won't regret this, Queen Minnie. I promise that you won't. I'll train hard and then we'll go looking for my friends and King Mickey. All of us together."


End file.
